


The Darkest Horror Fanfiction List

by Pumpkinplus



Series: Best of Fic Lists [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, One Piece, Silent Hill (Video Game Series)
Genre: Fanfiction Review, Gen, Horror, Other, Torture, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:40:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29529987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pumpkinplus/pseuds/Pumpkinplus
Summary: A list of the best horror fanfiction from anime, movies and video games.
Series: Best of Fic Lists [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2169426
Kudos: 1





	1. Introduction

Welcome to my roundup of some of the best horror stories our anime, video game and movie fans have written. 

TV Tropes has a similar recommendations page, but a lot of good fics were being left out, and the reviews were short and sometimes inaccurate. After many years of purveying what Fanfiction.net and Ao3 had to offer, I decided to make some lists of the best fanfiction I could find.

There is le` SPOILER WARNING for all fanfics- I will note where they are in the review.

If you think there is a fic that tops the ones I mention in that fandom, feel free to let me know about it. However, I do not review gorn, smut, and am very picky about romance recommendations.

Finally, if any author wants me to remove a review of their work, just let me know.

  
  



	2. One Piece

One Piece

  
[Kill The Rabbit](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1096810/chapters/2206903) by [Mountain97](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mountain97/pseuds/Mountain97)  
Word Count: 291K Completed: 2014

A Note to Nostalgia

Let me preface this review by saying fiction doesn’t scare me easily. I dislike gorn because it’s pointless, not because it’s scary. I read horror for the suspense and the imagination, not because it spooks me.

Kill The Rabbit is true horror.

The story centers on Ace and the Whitebeard pirates as they come across an island with a strange rock while carrying a mysterious passenger. The island is not the story’s setting- it’s more of a plot device- but what initially starts as an innocuous One Piece fic with some violence tags turns into one of the scariest works of fiction I have read.

Let me be clear- some of my judgement will probably be clouded by nostalgia and ignorance. It’s been a long time since I read Kill the Rabbit from front to back, and it was one of the first straight horror stories I read that wasn’t written before I was born. But the fact that nothing I have read since then made me think, “Man, this tops that One Piece Fic I read a while back” testifies to how good it is.

Ghostwriting

I’m not entirely convinced that this wasn’t Stephen King’s experimental side project while he was in-between books- this sucker is 53 chapters long and was completed in less than a year. Even if it was entirely written before posting, that’s impressive. You can’t just be in for a quick scare with this work. The pacing is slow at first- there are some parts where I think it drags on too long- but when something goes down, it lunges from zero to 100. The length is completely justified as it goes on longer, and by the end you wish there was more.

Characters as People

Ace, in canon One Piece, had a rough childhood but ultimately turned out into a remarkably well-adjusted adult. This story’s version of Ace is similar, but actually adds more to him- he has skills that he doesn’t display in the show but would be sort-of plausible for him to have (inventing traps and weapons, map-making). The differences are not an accident.

The antagonist of the fic is one of the better ones I’ve read in fanfiction- a lot of fanfic writers have villains that only exist to make conflict and leave, or don’t have any villain at all. One Piece as a fandom doesn’t have that problem as acutely as others, and while Kill The Rabbit’s isn’t a particularly novel one, he gets the job done with class that makes you want to kill him-one of my favorite types.

Criticism

I think one of the reasons this fic might lose readers is that it’s not very One Piece- it uses that serie’s characters and world with a tone much bleaker than the source material, and that could be a big turnoff to people that just want to read about Ace and the Whitebeard pirates. It might succeed as an original work, but one of it’s charms is using our expectations of Whitebeard’s crew (and later Haki) to blind us to what’s coming. Starting from ground zero would make an already lengthy story even longer establishing characters who aren’t familiar to us.

The only complaint I have about this fic would be that it could’ve given us more closure at the end-things are finished, but I would’ve like to see more of a wrap-up. It wouldn’t have to be a long denouement- just enough to make the ending less abrupt. It felt more cut-off than closed. The post-script mentioned it was subtle, though.

Best Chapter

If the best thing about a horror story is how scary it is, I think chapters 22-23 qualify. It’s the most brutal part of the fic, aside from the ending, and it doesn’t drag in a boring way- it’s a rake-you-over-the-coals kind of scary, and the buildup before those chapters just make everything so much worse.

Summary

This fic is for anyone who is looking for horror that actually scares you, any reader who’s been looking to sit down and unpack symbolism that isn’t blatantly obvious or frustratingly obtuse, or a fiction fan that appreciates marvelous tension when things hit the fan.

Mountain97, in the post-script, promised readers a sequel and another One Piece fanfic. The profile hasn't been updated since 2014.


	3. Marvel Cinematic Universe, Silent Hill

Marvel Cinematic Universe, Silent Hill

[Labyrinth](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2356349/chapters/5199692) by [Mikkeneko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mikkeneko/pseuds/Mikkeneko)

Word Count: 68k Completed: 2014

Labyrinth can make a rough first impression with it’s first chapter for a reader expecting great things-the writing is serviceable, but unremarkable, and the events of that chapter would be right at home in a more… domestic Avengers fic, but don’t let it fool you. While most crossovers with Silent Hill seem to retread the plot of the second game, Mikkeneko is more ambitious, and it pays off.

The Avengers are summoned to investigate a strange fog, and while that might not be breaking news to the average Silent Hill fan, the fact that it’s threatening to expand over half of North America in a week is why they’re not just stumbling into a haunted town Harry Manson-style.

Tension 

One of the things I admired about this fic is how it made Silent Hill a legitimate threat to characters we normally see as invincible. The games are a shining example of psychological horror, and Mikkeneko uses that to great effect on the Avengers’ fragile trust with each other and their own insecurities and weaknesses. None of their separations from each other are by choice, but even as a group _they are not safe._ Even when they work as a team, they are alone. And eventually, even Earth's Mightest Heroes can’t defend themselves from everything.

Mythology/Symbolism

Silent Hill the place expands with every sequel it got, until we were wondering why anyone bothered to call it a tiny town. Labyrinth is more creative-instead of _out_ , it just cuts to the chase and goes _down._ The places described inside that cavern ( a tunnel that messes with gravity in timed sections, a burning city of skyscrapers, and an environment that exists just to screw with our heroes out of sheer maliciousness) sound so very much like something out of one of the games. The monsters are suitably creepy, but those creatures aren’t there to externalize a point-of-view character’s issues.

Criticism

SPOILER WARNING

I think the antagonist was a predictable choice. All the monster symbolism and the reveal were great, and a lot of thought was put into that, and the Marvel Movies don’t exactly hand out well-rounded, memorable villains. But kind of predictable.

Best Chapter

SPOILER WARNING

The UFO Ending. I’m kidding. But really, the fact that this fic ending on a downer for all the Avengers but Steve is kind of impressive. Mikkeneko didn’t pull punches with this fic, and that makes it even greater than if it had just a happy ending.

Summary

Labyrinth is a good read that doesn’t require a big time investment, just a copious amount of hamster videos to deal with the aftermath. ([Here’s one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQxcFFQYviI)). I’d recommend it to any Silent Hill fan, an Avengers fan that wants to see some legitimate stakes to the heroes’ actions, and horror readers looking for a good story.


End file.
